The ruling from UCI anxiously awaited by the cycling community was handed down Monday, backing the USADA decision officially stripping Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.

SCA Promotions, the insurance company that covers the performance bonus for Armstrong, says it wants all money paid to the cyclist returned, estimated by the BBC at $7.5 million. SCA said it “is considering all legal options to pursue a return of the funds paid.”

“Mr. Armstrong is no longer the official winner of any Tour de France races and, as a result, it is inappropriate and improper for him to retain any bonus payments made by SCA,” CNN and other news sources reported.

Trek Bicycles, Honey Stinger, Giro, 24 Hour Fitness, and now Oakley joined the list of sponsors dropping Lance Armstrong last week following Nike's announcement it had terminated its sponsorship contract with the dethroned seven-time Tour de France champion in the face of “insurmountable evidence” that he took performance enhancing drugs. Radio Shack and Anheuser-Busch announced they were dropping their sponsorships of Armstrong as well.

Armstrong had announced August 23 that he would no longer fight the charges against him. Federal authorities dropped their criminal fraud investigation against him and U.S. Postal Service cycling team earlier this year without explanation. Armstrong maintains his innocence and has passed more than 500 drug tests with 25 years of endurance sports under his belt with no spike in performance, according to a statement he released in June.

Nike’s statement was a blow that began a snowball effect, reversing its August statement that the brand, “…plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a foundation that the cyclist created to serve cancer survivors. Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position,” Nike said in a statement.

Not everyone is towing the USADA line however, and the chairman of Swiss-based performance sportswear company Skins Compression demanded in an open letter to the UCI president Pat McQuaid that he either act immediately or resign in order to protect the future of world cycling and its commercial partners in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping debacle. Showing the depth of the issue, Dutch bank Rabobank last week ended its multi-million euro backing of professional cycling, according to MSNBC.

“Our policy with our athletes is to support them until proven guilty by the highest governing body of sport or court of law,” Oakley said in a statement run by several news sites. And that guilty verdict came today. “When Lance joined our family many years ago, he was a symbol of possibility,” the company said in a statement. “We are deeply saddened by the outcome, but look forward with hope to athletes and teams of the future who will rekindle that inspiration by racing clean, fair and honest. We believe the Livestrong Foundation has been a positive force in the lives of many affected by cancer and, at this time, Oakley will continue to support its noble goals.”

When asked for a statement, Honey Stinger said, “We are in the process of removing Lance Armstrong’s image and endorsement from our product packaging. While this presents short term challenges, we look forward to growing our brand and offering our customers the best products possible.”

Nike attributed its decision to the 1,000-page USADA report that included accusations of widespread doping and cover-ups by Armstrong and his teams, including 26 sworn witness statements. “Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner.”

Nike and Anheuser-Busch plan to continue support of the Livestrong foundation, which celebrated its 15th anniversary on Friday. The charity reports revenue 2.1 percent higher than last year at $33.8 million so far in 2012. Armstrong also stepped down as chairman of the charity.

Members of the cycling community are deeply saddened by these events and the entire sporting world is expressing frustration and deviating opinions on a daily basis. Sickened, huge, shocking, depressing, and inevitable are just some of the words being used to describe the seemingly final news on the subject.

“As a fellow cyclist I am deeply saddened that UCI and USADA are making an example out of Armstrong,” said 2012 Mountain Bike Marathon National Champion Rachel Hadley. “After reading Tyler Hamilton’s ‘The Secret Race,’ it is clear all of the athletes competing at that level were doping. Why aren’t they going down too? Because they testified against the guy with the biggest name they are immune? The truth is, Armstrong is an insane athlete who came back from cancer to win the most difficult bike race in the world seven times. He has drastically changed the perception and awareness around cancer survivors and has raised millions of dollars for the cause. Is he a saint, definitely not; but does his reputation and empire have to be destroyed to prove a point? Absolutely not.”

According to Todd Walton of The Walton Works outdoor-specialty public relations firm, the overwhelming disappointment among retailers and other industry folks is that Lance is being singled out. “I personally think the whole field should be scraped and some kid from Springfield on a paper route should wear yellow because everyone is doping,” said Walton. “Why is the focus on Lance? I think the whole thing is out of whack. Not that he got caught doping, but the fact that the other top riders in other countries aren't under the same scrutiny. Sponsors dropping Lance is kind of a shoulder shrug and expected at this point, but the questions are much broader and bigger than just one man.”

“Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, and he deserves to be forgotten,” International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said. He is now officially banned from the sport for life and 14 years of his career records will be erased. The agency will not appeal any decisions to the Court of Arbitration.